Brics+ in bid to shake up world order, attacks G7 on role in Africa

At the Summit were new members; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran and President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Their countries were formally admitted to Brics last year, making it Brics+.

The original members Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira, who represented President Lula da Silva, were also present.

“We have sought to strengthen the group’s influence, enhance its role in global affairs and in addressing pressing global and regional problems,” Putin told the Summit on October 23.

Brics+, he said, is a multifaceted cooperation between states in three broad areas of politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contacts.

“It goes without saying that we have made every effort to ensure the smooth and fullest possible integration of the new members into our group formats. It would be fair to say that Brics is a group of like-minded sovereign states that represent different continents, development models, religionsand distinctive civilisations and cultures.”

But in there, lay an attack on the G7, the overall representation of the Western democracies.

Putin was hosting this summit after two years of Western sanctions and supposed isolation from the rest of the world. The gathering alone represented a defiance, and proof that Moscow wasn’t yet isolated.

The group, Putin argued, advocates equality, neighbourliness and mutual respect, the assertion of the noble ideals of friendship and harmony, commonwealth and well-being.

The Kazan Declaration issued on October 24 was more elaborate. It spoke of supporting African solutions to African problems as “the basis for conflict resolution on the African continent.”

“We reaffirm our support for African peace efforts on the continent including those undertaken by the African Union and African sub-regional organisations, in line with the principles of African ownership, complementarity and subsidiarity.”

But Brics+ was meeting here to show it could be an alternative geopolitical bloc for Africans to choose.

This was reflected in the way they spoke about common problems such as terrorism, debt burden and other problems afflicting the continent.

Brics+ said they call for the channeling of more global counter-terrorism resources to developing countries to help African countries, “particularly those affected, enhance their counter-terrorism capacity building.”

The G7, on the other hand see failing democracy as the fuel for terrorism problems in the region.

Back in June, the G7 which includes the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy said the terrorism problem seen in the Sahel, for example, can be wiped out if leaders returned to democracy.

“We call upon the States of the Sahel to accelerate the pace of the transition for return to constitutional order, and stand ready to assist them,” they said after their meeting on June 14 in Apulia, Italy.

“We look forward to enhancing cooperation with the African Union and its current Mauritanian Presidency, as well as regional organisations and the UN in fostering stability, security, good governance and development in the Sahel, preventing the “spill-over” of insecurity towards the Gulf of Guinea and North Africa, as well as irregular migratory flows,” the G7 said at the time.

The Brics+ were fighting the Western bloc in most of the phrasing. Its members such as Russia and Iran have endured sanctions from the West, for invading Ukraine (Russia) and continuing with a nuclear programme as well as supporting militants in the Middle East (Iran).

Some China’s top officials have also been sanctioned in the US, in the past, leading to protests from Beijing. They put that protest in writing.

“We are deeply concerned about the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions, on the world economy, international trade, and the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

“Such measures undermine the UN Charter, the multilateral trading system, the sustainable development and environmental agreements,” the Declaration said. They also negatively impact economic growth, energy, health and food security exacerbating poverty and environmental challenges.”

Russia has often presented an image of defiance in the face of sanctions which have included isolation of its banks from the global settlement system, a blockade on some of its goods as well as targeted sanctions on some Russian oligarchs.

“We are committed to raising the costs of Russia’s war by building on the comprehensive package of sanctions and economic measures already in place,” the G7 said in June.

“Though our measures have had a significant impact on Russia’s ability to build its war machine and to fund its invasion, its military is still posing a threat not just to Ukraine but also to international security.”

In Kazan, officials attacked Western institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), demanding that they adjust their lending system to the poor, especially in assigning the Special Drawing Rights.

Though supportive of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Brics+ say they are against discriminatory politically motivated practices, “including but not limited to unilateral coercive measures that are incompatible with the principles of the UN Charter.”

“Explicit or implied political conditionality of development assistance, activities, aiming at compromising the multiplicity of international development assistance providers,” are among things they reject.

One key takeaway from Kazan is that Brics+ do not seek to create an alternative UN. Rather, they want reforms to make it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient.

They want the UN “to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships so that it can adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Brics countries, to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council.

*Written by Aggrey Mutambo